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I'd missed this when it was given a U.S. theatrical release and, considering its cast, thought I'd give it a whirl when it was shown today on the FOX Movie Channel. But, as it unreeled, the recollection of its lukewarm-to-poor reviews came vividly to mind. It's a thorough disappointment in lots of ways, beginning with a script that has barely a hint of what was, no doubt, a good example of novelist Evelyn Waugh's acerbic social satire. The production design, typical of most films then, British and American, is colorfully garish. And the waste of the acting talent of a phalanx of the best British character actors is awesomely prodigious, attributable, I'm sure, to the slack direction of one John Krish, whose meager filmography is testament to his utter mediocrity. I should have been forewarned by the psychedelic colors swirling under the main credits (Well, the year of production WAS 1968, after all.) and the soupy music of Ron Goodwin, whose syrupy strains inappropriately underline most of the film's unfolding. Worst of all was the misuse of the elegant Genevieve Page, an actress perfectly capable of playing a lady of privilege and breeding, who seems, in this one, to be an inexperienced amateur attempting a role for which she is almost entirely unsuited. What a pity!

This was the sort of film my parents could confidently send me off to see, knowing that there would be nothing scandalous about it. I saw it just after we'd moved to a southern California suburb from a town near Boston, Massachusetts, and I recall being envious of young Donna Corcoran (who was also billed as Noreen, and whose sibling, Kevin, aka: "Moochie," also enjoyed a career as a child actor, mostly at Disney) getting to emote with such charming people as the leads, Greer Garson and Walter Pigeon, one of M-G-M's favorite pairings, once again playing a loving married couple. (By the way, no matter how I try, IMDb keeps deleting the "d" in Walter's last name in this comment when I try to post it. What's going on?!?)

I haven't seen it since but I do remember that I was aware then that it was an example of Hollywood's backlot artistry, something which, were it to be remade today for TV, for example, might benefit from some location shooting in the actual locale of the story. It's a gentle film made with the care one would expect from the professionals listed in its credits, one of those relics unlikely to be made available on video, and that's really a loss that many of us do regret, however mildly. Turner Classic Movies unearths it from their treasure trove occasionally. Worth keeping an eye out for.

The talents of Frank Tashlin and Doris Day would seem to be a Hollywood combination made in heaven but, with "The Glass Bottom Boat" (made at M-G-M a year earlier than "Caprice') and this one, their fans were doomed to a certain degree of disappointment. The main trouble with this film is its impossibly convoluted and ridiculous script, giving little opportunity for anyone to shine, except, perhaps, the set and clothes designers, though one must appreciate that their efforts look very, VERY much of the dreaded "Mod" period when this one was conceived.

Technical credits are, for the most part, top-notch, especially that old pro Leon Shamroy's lush cinematography (although I do recall that the back projections were very obvious when I saw this on a 40-foot wide CinemaScope screen when it was first released).

I've never been a particular fan of Richard Harris and he was most definitely miscast opposite Doris. His too-clipped delivery of some of his lines can be attributed, I suspect, to Mr. Tashlin's rather slack direction (unusual for that comic master).

All in all, when one considers that producer Martin Melcher, Doris's husband, was, at the time, squandering her hefty paychecks in unwise investments, it's easy to understand why Ms. Day has since been content to retire form the screen and allow us to remember her better, earlier efforts.